Hyūga Gaiden-日向外伝
by Mewrlise
Summary: "My loyalty lies with my family and village, harm either and I will end you where you stand," Keiko Hyūga has only one job: protect her sister. It was a self-imposed mission that got her into more trouble than strictly necessary. Though, in her defence people should learn to keep their mouth shut if they didn't want to get hurt. "Who are you calling short-tempered huh?"
1. How this all started

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

—.—.—.—

Keiko Hyūga was born only moments after her twin. However, as it happened with the previous generation, this was reason enough that on her third birthday she was branded with the main family's juinjutsu.

She didn't cry, or rage, or complain about how unfair this was. Understanding the need for this tradition more than most people. The problem wasn't that they were twins and that automatically labelled one for the seal. The problem was that they were their father's first born children. And, as he was the head of the clan, his first born was to become his heir. Hence, why it became a problem when twins were clothed for the first title. Had he had a child before them, they would have both been accepted as part of the main branch. That was not the case. Therefore, as clan head, it was his duty to establish a clear-cut inheritance hierarchy.

So, the night of the branding Keiko graciously accepted her fate, barely batting and eyelash when her father was done and removed his palm from her forehead. She was the last one to get her mark, for the ceremony only happened on the heir's third birthday, and her grandfather even commended her on her attitude.

Her cousin, Neji, was on her right, head bowed slightly as he waited to be dismissed. Really, most people forgot the true purpose of the seal. Yes, it could enable the main clan to immediately kill them, which frankly in her opinion wasn't much of a problem for them at the moment, and she prayed for future generation to not give birth to a tyrant. But the seal, horrible as it might sound guaranteed them a level of protection which the main branch did not possess.

They wouldn't be hunted for their eyes. For their seal was well known. That was the point. It was only the main branch which needed to fear that fate. It was one of the reasons why, when Keiko made eye contact with Hinata, she gave the girl a reassuring smile. ' _It_ _'_ _s all right, you don_ _'_ _t need to worry,_ ' was what she tried to tell her through it.

If anything her twin was the one which deserved pity, burdened with the weight of their entire clan, she was bound to be heavily scrutinised and judged.

While Keiko, on the other hand, was freed to a large extent of those burdens. All she needed to do was not let her clan down and look after her twin. A task on which she decided long ago. After all, Hinata was _her_ sister, and first born or not, she relied on Keiko. Especially when their father was being particularly harsh.

—.—.—.—

Keiko had a bad feeling since the treaty between Kumo and Konoha was announced and the Hokage let them know that a delegation from said village was due to come here and finalise the treaty.

Everyone was so happy. People were cheering, whispers of true peace were spreading, overshadowing the one from the sceptics. Keiko being one of them. Kumogakure was rather infamous for their desire of bloodline users to add to their ranks. Their tutor had told them that during the last war they have attempted several times to acquire the byakugan.

But mother measured her that nothing was going to happen. "They wouldn't dare they something within our own compound," she said and Keiko believed her.

It is hubris like this that causes one to become ignorant.

Something did happen, not even two days after the Kumo delegation arrived. That night, Keiko woke up, feeling anxious for reasons she could express. Turning around in her futon, she was greeted by her sister's peaceful expression, fast asleep. It was enough to make her fall asleep herself, except she heard the shoji screen open and her heart stopped. There wasn't much that she remembered afterwards, black greeted her vision and when she next woke up it wasn't in her room, next to her sister.

Looking around herself, Keiko felt dread well up in her like never before. They were moving at high speed, four ninjas were around her, the other caring her in the crook of his arm. She didn't even know how long it has been or if they were still in Konohagakure, the forest trees being the only distinguishing feature of the landscape.

She could hear them speak, though her panicked brain could make no sense of the words which sounded like gibberish to her. 'I'm scared,' she thought, tears welling up in her eyes as she began to shake with suppressed sobs.

Her mother told her nothing would happen, her father said that he would keep her and Hinata safe. 'They lied,' was her thought when she calmed a bit, anger slowly creeping instead of her fear.

They lied and now she didn't know where she was or if Hinata was safe. As she couldn't see her sister around, Keiko decided that it was likely she wasn't taken. The next question, of course, was why. She might be relieved that her twin was safe, however, that didn't stop the thought from occurring.

And the answer she came up with was not satisfactory. They must have taken her by accident. It was the only thing she could come up with, what use would they otherwise have for kidnapping her? Her byakugan would become useless once she died or if they tried to extract it, even if she was alive. Ransom was her next guess. Though even then, they would have likely taken Hinata, as she was the heir.

However, regardless of the reason they now had her and she was powerless to do anything. It was frustrating. So, so frustrating that she couldn't stop the tears from flowing as the shinobi carrying her hopped from tree branch to tree branch.

'Please…father, save me,' she thought pitifully.

It turned out that, while they were no longer in Konoha, they weren't far enough away for the Konoha shinobi to not catch up to them, even with the Kumo ninjas' advance.

The foreign ninja were surrounded and she felt her body be moved so that her back was held flush across the shinobi's chest, a kunai held at her throat.

"Move and the girl's life ends here," a gruff voice said from behind her, close enough for her to know it was coming from her carrier.

Casting a wild look around her, her eyes landed on the form of her father. He looked furious, his byakugan activated whilst he looked at a point above her, possibly her kidnapper. What happened next was chaos. Who made the first move she did not know, but the man holding her lost his grip and she was falling. In the distance, she heard a familiar voice shout her name, but fear acted as a buffer between her and the outside world.

Keiko only registered what was happening around her when she felt strange, familiar arms wrap around her. A smooth voice telling her it was all going to be all right. Opening her eyes she was greeted by her father's familiar face:

"Papa," she muttered, watching how the man's expression registered into one of pity and something clicked in her mind.

"Ojisan," she corrected herself, feeling as she was held closer to his chest, his body shielding her from the fighting happening around them.

"It's going to be fine Keiko-hime," he whispered, and it was true. Her kidnappers were captured, alive, and they were able to return home. It turned out that her father was part of the rescue team as well but Keiko refused to let go of her uncle, burring her face in his chest.

When her father tried to hold her she flashed him a furious look, betrayal shining clear in her eyes for all present to see:

"You promised nothing was going to happen," she accused, not taking note of the way her father recoiled back as though he was slapped. He didn't try to take her from her uncle anymore.

Back home, she was greeted by a distraught mother and sister. Her grandfather and cousin were also there, but Keiko only had eyes for Hinata, running into her twins arms the moment she was put down.

She took to avoiding her parents, feeling as though they betrayed her and made a point to leave meals as soon as she finished. Hinata was never far behind, following her sister and keeping her company. The event from weeks ago still haunting them both.

They both heard that the Hokage was furious with the Raikage, and whispers in the compound hinted at a possible war sparking from this. It never got to that point, Kumogakure demanding their ninja back and declaring them traitors acting under self-given orders. A hoax, everyone knew, but nobody wanted another war so Konoha accepted the _not_ apology.

Training became more intense, Keiko going out of her way to train harder, seeking help from her uncle as a result. She still partook in the mandatory training with Hinata, supervised by their father, but chose his brother to ask for more help, not him.

For Keiko vowed to herself that she never wanted to be put in that kind of situation again.

She lost part of her cheer, most of her focus used to better herself at the expense of appearing cold, even to her sister. Neji became a regular sparring partner, the two pushing against each other without restraint. It was different that when she trained with Hinata. Keiko still loved her twin incredibly so, though it was impossible to deny that Hinata's shyness was not holding them both back during training.

Even so, Keiko made a point to encourage and push her twin onwards, inviting her to the additional training sessions as well. For while it terrified Keiko to think about ever being so helpless again, what horrified her and plagued her dreams at night was the thought of her sister being in that situation.

She refused to ever allow that to happen. But that also meant Hinata needed to grow stronger.

Yet, fate seemed to be against her family for not even half a year after the failed kidnapping, news of Hizashi's deaths reached them. It happened during a mission in Yu no Kuni, he was delivering a package to one of the country's noble families and was ambushed on the way back. They didn't seem to take anything and their only obvious intention was to harm him. People pointed at Kumo, though no concrete evidence was ever found.

Neji was completely devastated, his father's death affecting him more that anyone could have predicted. Gone were his smiles and kind words, replaced by anger and ambition like no other. Their spars grew more ruthless, him never holding back against her, barely restraining himself against Hinata, causing Hiashi to even activate his curse seal before them once.

Keiko screamed at her father to spot, falling by her cousin's side as he screamed his pain while Hinata watched on with horrified eyes, her body trembling in fear. The event only lasted a moment, though it felt much longer for those involved. Neji couldn't even get up from the pain and Keiko, for the first time, felt like she hated her father.

Poor Hinata cried and apologised over and over again, while Keiko attempted to reassure her that this was not her fault. Their cousin took to avoiding them after the incident, a rather hard task as they now lived in the same house, no matter how big.

Not that Keiko allowed him to do as he pleased, seeking him out instead of the other way around and simply sitting in silence with him if the boy didn't wish to speak.

The spring following their fifth birthday, Neji was enrolled into the academy and their youngest sister, Hanabi, was born. The little babe was a sight to see and the two sisters were head over heals in love with the newest addition to the family.

For a while things were peaceful, next year they also joined the academy, although the class rooster saw the twins separated into different classes. It was the first time that they were expected to spend so long separated from one another and on a daily basis as well.

Keiko was more outspoken than Hinata, able to tell off the people that irritated her without fear, however, she knew her twin was not and it worried her that the girl was going to be picked on because of her shyness.

A fear that proved true, especially when, as they walked home one day, a group of boys came to pick on Hinata, and Keiko as a result. Of course, they were expecting a meal response so when the younger Hyūga lashed out at them the boys were taken back. Despite her sister's protest, Keiko didn't hesitate to resort to physical violence in order to prove her point. Threatening them should they ever attempt such a thing again:

"Come near my sister ever again and I promise, you won't even be able to crawl back home," were her parting words to the boys before grabbing Hinata's hand and walking home.

Hinata was still undergoing their father's gruelling training regime and Keiko could join them less and less as he focused on teaching her the Main family secret jutsu. This, in turn, resulted in her spending more time with Neji, regardless if the boy actually wanted to spend all of this extra time with her. Despite and of their misunderstandings and Neji's increase dislike for the Main branch, the two were good for each other. They could push each other in ways others their age were unable to.

Their talent wasn't unknown either and Keiko regretted putting extra pressure on her sister the most. She heard the whispers saying how Hinata should have been born after, 'fools,' she would think each time she heard the hushed whispers. None of them knew how much effort Hinata put into training and pleasing them.

"Being kind is not a bad thing nēsan," she would tell Hinata, trying to coax a smile from the other girl after each training session with Hiashi.

But things didn't get any easier for Hinata. When Before they even turned seven their mother died due to bad health, leaving three sobbing daughters and a distraught husband in her wake.

That was the first time in a long while that Neji sought Keiko on his own volition. Holding her as she cried just as she done with him when his father died. Regardless of what anyone said, themselves included, the two were as close as siblings.

A few months afterwards, when things were finally entering a sort of routine, news of the Uchiha massacre spread like wildfire and the Hyūga were tense. Such an event has never happened before and the thought of a single person, _a boy_ , killing an entire clan that rivalled their own in terms of strength…was terrifying.

People were scared that he might return, patrols increased and for a while, the Hyūga had a self-imposed curfew put in place.

Things were hectic, but as with everything in life, time took its tool and pretty soon it became obvious the Uchiha murderer was not returning to test his abilities with another clan.

And as Hanabi turned four her abilities shone and Hinata's position as heiress was being put in jeopardy. Their youngest sister could already keep up with Hinata in terms of fighting abilities, and, unlike Hinata, who didn't wish to harm their sister in a fight, Hanabi did not share the same restraint.

Sure the youngest of the Hyūga sisters loved her sisters immensely, having spent ample time with both of them was they grew up. But she was also more confident in herself and understood the need to take a fight seriously more so than Hinata. And, while Keiko could understand why the elders and their father were considering giving the title of heiress to Hanabi, the way they went about it got her blood boiling.

When the match between the two sisters was announced, Keiko went to watch along with others, biting her tongue the entire time to prevent herself from making a comment. She could see the way Hinata was hesitating, not taking the opportunities presented to strike back at their sister and Hanabi's own growing frustration as a result.

Predictably it ended with Hanabi as the winner, but their father had to go throw salt in the wound:

"From now on I shall be training Hanabi as the heir, I can see now that all the time spend of you was wasted," before turning around, prepared to leave.

And Keiko snapped, anger like no other coursed through her blood at the sight of Hinata's tears, she wanted to hurt the man for pitting her sisters against one another. For making Hinata suffer.

But before she could so much as utter a word, pain like nothing she felt before spread through her entire body, paralysing her. Keiko screams filled the compound as she fell to the ground, her sisters rushing to her side, pausing in astonishment as being the curse seal activated. Whirling around to face their father only to see the man in a similar state of shock.

"The Hyūga survived only through sacrifice all of these years. To protect our clan we must do whatever it is necessary, even if it means causing pain to one of our own," their grandfather's words echoed in the training ground, walking forwards towards his grandchildren, face impassive as looked down upon Keiko's tear stricken face.

"Let this be a reminder that you should never let your anger cloud your judgment again Keiko," he told her, waiting as she managed to turn watery eyes towards him and resisting the urge to sigh at her mutinous expression.

"Keiko," Hinata uttered, tears streaming down her own face at her twins pain, a clutching Keiko's limp one.

"Aneue," Hanabi echoed alongside Hinata, not knowing what to do in the given situation. She had never, not a single time seen Keiko cry, certainly never heard her wail in pain like today.

"Chichiue," Hiashi's voice called, angry and with a glare on his face.

"Have you forgotten the vow you took when I entrusted the clan to you?" their grandfather asked harshly.

"She did nothing to warrant the seal's activation that was-," but Hiashi never finished as Keiko's hoarse voice interrupted them:

"A-and…di-did Neji do, s-some-thing…to deserve his…?" she got out through spasms still rocking her body and voice hoarse from screaming. Her question remained unfinished but the implications were clear enough for Hiashi to understand.

"You proceed with your foolishness girl?" her grandfather asked, sensing the anger that still ran strongly through her. It made her father tense even further and he watched as Keiko stared defiantly at him, feeling the hatred directed towards him and his heart break.

With a quick apology to his dead wife and daughters before him, Hiashi raised his right hand, seal formed and face carefully blanked as he activated the seal once again. Bracing himself for his daughter's anguished screams and hating himself even more.

'Is this how you felt brother? When you had your own seal activated?' Hiashi wondered, feeling as though he himself was tortured as his daughter screamed while the other two begged him to stop.

This time, Keiko passed out and he left, self-loathing being the only feeling he had left as the sounds of his daughters' sobs grew fainter the further he went.

'Is this really me destiny?'

—.—.—.—.—

Keiko woke up in the middle of the night that same day. Now moved to her own room with both sisters on either side of her, drawing a small smile from the girl before she winced, her body hurting all over.

"Keiko…" Hinata's voice whispered, eyes wide open as she looks at her sister, white clashing with white as she tried to smile, an attempt at reassuring her elder sister. Their movements thankfully didn't wake up Hanabi and the twin fell asleep holding each other in their arms.

The next morning Keiko was told to take it easy and had both sisters and even Hanabi's caretaker, Natsu, fuss over her health.

"No, you must rest Keiko-sama, do not force your body, the woman said sternly, worry evident in her arms when Keiko insisted she was well enough to walk. Truth was that her body still hurt but she didn't want to give the elders and her father the satisfaction of knowing this affected her so much.

"Please sister, listen to Natsu-san's advice, I'll get you anything you need," Hinata pled, causing Keiko to sigh in defeat, slumping against the wall.

It was at evening when Hinata and Hanabi went to join the rest for dinner, promising to return right afterwards, that Keiko was finally given a moment alone. Once Natsu brought her a tray of food and left to have her own meal, the smile Keiko forced on her face through the day fell and her hands fisted in her covers.

She never really expected her father would activate the seal, certainly not after her grandfather just did. Despite everything they've been through, Keiko realised that part of her still held on to the father she so loved and admired when she was very young. It hurt realising how betrayed she felt by his actions and a self-deprecating laugh escaping her throat.

This was the time her shoji door was open and her head snapped immediately towards the newcomers, relaxing her posture only when she saw that it was Neji. The older boy muttered an apology for intruding and said nothing else till he took a seat on her right, leaning against the wall as well.

"I heard," was all he said, face turned slightly towards her.

"I'm sure it's the gossip of the clan," was her reply.

"…I'm sorry," he said softly, hand going out to grasp her own.

"It's not your fault Neji-nii."

—.—.—.—

 **A/N: I have 2 exams in 3 days I am not revising and instead procrastinating like it's my job. Seriously what is my life?** **I know I still have other stories to update I just don't have the: 1)Time I use properly 2)They just don't want to be written right now**

 **I know I still have other stories to update I just don't have the: 1)Time I use properly 2)They just don't want to be written right now**

 **My apologies dear readers.**

 **Now for new readers,** **that you for lasting so far in this chapter and welcome to the madness that is my writing style. Apologies for any grammatical error or spelling one and please feel welcome to point them out. This isn't planned to be an overly long story but who knows how I end up writing it. Oh! I made this OC a page on** narutooriginals **if you what to check it out. My username is the same and it is titled: Hy** **ū** **ga Keiko. I also made one for my main OC Uzumaki Michiko.**


	2. Team Failure

The newly minted genin pretended to pay attention to their sensei as he explained what awaited them in the near future. Keiko wasn't even putting in that much effort to pretend that she was listening, holding the side of her face with her left hand as her white eyes squinted at the teacher, mentally urging his to hurry up.

However the Kami were not on her side and Keiko resisted the urge to bang her head as the man in front of the class began another "Be careful," speech. Seriously, he was one of the most overprotective teachers in the academy. 'It's almost as if we didn't spend the past years learning how to survive and kill,' Keiko thought before allowing her thought to drift to Hinata, who was currently in the other classroom, likely receiving the same overly long speech.

"Ah fine, fine, I think I said enough, Ahem, let us get right into it. Team thirteen will consist of Tadokoro Ami…" Keiko perked up slightly and sent a thankful prayer to whatever Kami finally heard her prayer. She silently took note of the teams formed, attempting to identify the people she will get paired up with.

"…on to team seventeen. Ryota Satoshi, Makoto Hotaru and Hyūga Keiko, next…" Keiko wanted to throw her desk at the teacher. Not even bothering to hide her distress as she let her head bang on the table and groan. 'Someone must have it in for me,' she decided, using all of her energy to ignore everyone around her as a bony finger keep enthusiastically poking her.

This was a moment in which Keiko resented the fact that society frowned upon severely harming your newly announced teammate. Which would only mean that her father would give her a lecture if she chose to stick a kunai in Ryota's hand.

When all teams were announced, their teacher instructed them to wait inside the classroom for their jōnin instructors to come pick them out.

Once the man was out, kids started shuffling around, going to sit next to their new teammates, while Keiko attempted to channel her twin's calm demeanour.

"Oy Keiko what's up with you. Seriously no need to hold in your happiness at being paired with the one and only Ryota Satoshi!" an exuberant voice bellowed from right next to Keiko.

'Hinata would be calm, she would smile despite the situation and try to be polite,' she thought to herself, grinding her teeth in an attempt to hold in her screams.

'Think of Hinata, think of Hinata,' Keiko continued her chant.

"Oy Keiko you in there?" the boy persisted.

"Maybe you should stop Satoshi," a calmer, much nicer voice tried to warn.

"Pfft, stop being such a coward Hotaru, oy white eyes how long—," he never got to finish his sentence as the moment her grabbed her shoulder to shake her, Keiko's eyes snapped open, grabbing his arm as she stood up and threw him across the classroom.

'Short-tempered Keiko strikes again,' the class almost collectively thought as two jōnin who came to pick up their teams stared in surprise.

"Piss me off anymore Ryota and I will break your arm next time," the girl threatened, barring her teeth in a remarkably good impression of an Inuzuka, as her white eyes narrowed on the groaning form of the imbecile she was unlucky enough to be teamed up with.

Satisfied with her job, the Hyūga took her seat, arms crossed over her chest, glaring at anyone who still haven't found anything better to do than stare at her.

"Guess I got stuck with the loud one," a new voice added, gaining the attention of the remaining children in the classroom.

"Team seventeen, with me," he ordered before pivoting on his left heel, marching out of the classroom. The aforementioned team scrambled after the man, following him in relative silence to one of the closer training ground he took them to.

"All right, I'm your potential jōnin instructor, my name is Kyota Hideo, introduce yourselves and let us get started," he declared bluntly, staring at the genin before him with unimpressed green eyes.

Kyota was a tall man with tan skin and sandy brown hair combed to the side. He wore the standard Konoha infantry uniform with the sleeves of his dark shirt rolled up past his elbows and his headband tied to his right bicep.

"Bah, your no fun," Ryota started, only to receive a glare from the man and Keiko.

"Fine, fine…name's Ryota Satoshi," he boy declared confidently. Satoshi was the tallest in their class, measuring a good head taller than Keiko, with dark green hair and eyes and pale skin.

"Hyūga Keiko," she introduced herself simply, eager to get on with the proceedings. Keiko, who was Hinata's identical twin, chose to let her hair grown out, unlike her sister who kept her's short. Tying it in a short, side ponytail, with a straight fringe covering her curse mark, and chin-length bangs framing her face. She wore a simple white kimono that ended mid tight, held closed with a black sash and her clan's symbol on the back while her headband was tied around her neck. Coupled with a pair of black tight and standard shinobi, blue, sandals.

"And you?" Kyota prompted their final team member.

"A-ah, Makoto Hotaru…sir!" the boy stuttered out, scratching the back of his neck. In all honesty, Keiko felt bad for the kid. Makoto was one of the shyest in their class, so getting stuck with two of the loudest members of the same class must be… _overwhelming._

"Very well, lets get—," their instructor began, only to be stopped my Keiko.

"What did you mean by potential instructor?" she demanded, not even bothering to be pleasant with the blunt man.

"Tsk, keep forgetting that the academy doesn't tell you in advance," Kyota muttered. "It means that unless you can pass my exam I am sending you right back to the academy," the jōnin stated, watching with calculating eyes as Keiko nodded her head in understanding, while Ryota began loudly complaining and Makoto looked on with wide, frightened eyes.

"Quiet," he ordered coldly , causing the Ryota to freeze mid-sentence and prompting a smirk from the only female present as a result.

"I shall begin by assessing your individual fighting abilities…in the order you introduced yourselves, thirty minutes each!" the jōnin barked at his prospective students.

None of them landed a hit on the far more experienced ninja, much to Keiko's frustration, but they were left alone after Makoto's thirty minutes and told to meet him at this training ground tomorrow at noon for the formal assessment.

Keiko left for her house afterwards, only one thought running through her mind as she walked through Konoha's busy streets: 'I'm so beating Neji-nii's ass for not telling me about any of this.'

—.—.—.—

"You fail," Kyota declared passionlessly to the three, now former genin before him.

"You can't do that!" Ryota screeched, face red from exercise and anger.

"I can and just did brat. Konoha does not need brats who can't handle themselves appropriately," was his final words, before turning around and leaving the three.

Ryota was fuming, shouting at Makoto to stop crying while Keiko stared into the distance, eyes narrowed in the direction their ex-potential sensei went.

'I refuse to let it end like this,' she thought angrily, as the image of her father appeared in her mind before being replaced by a pitying Hinata and disappointed Neji. No, this was not how her ninja career was going to end. And if the two behind her were satisfied complying about it then she would let them be.

The girl didn't so much bid the boys farewell before taking off in the direction Kyota took, byakugan activated, as she attempted to locate the man unsuccessfully. 'Damn it,' she cursed, hands balled into fists as her body shook in anger.

'Get a grip on yourself,' she commanded, taking a deep breath of air before releasing it. 'If I can't find Kyota-sensei then I will go straight to the man in charge,' was her decision, changing direction and heading for the Hokage tower.

—.—.—.—

Sarutobi Hiruzen was enjoying his pipe when a knock on the door interrupted his peaceful musings, causing him to lightly choke.

He waited till he regained his composure before giving permission for the newcomer to enter. Behind his secretary, Hiruzen noted the young Hyūga patiently waiting, eyes watching him attentively while his secretary spoke.

"My sinceresy apologies Hokage-sama, she does not have an appointment and I have tried telling her as much but she refused—," the frazzled woman was saying, stopping at Hiruzen's raise hand.

"Do not worry Kurumi-san, I shall take it from here, you may leave," he dismissed the woman, leaning back in his chair as he assessed the child before him.

The Hokage of course recognised Hiashi's second daughter, having seen her as early as yesterday when the girl came in to hand in her completed registration form.

"Hokage-sama," Keiko addressed him formal, bowing at the waist and pulling on every single manner lesson she was made to endure as a child.

"Ah, Keiko-kun, what brings you here?" the old man asked, noting that based on her dirtied kimono she must have come just come from the training grounds.

"Kyota-sensei has failed my team," the girl went straight to the point, not wasting a single moment. Meanwhile, Hiruzen fought to suppress a sigh. Every year, a student or parent would come in his office asking for a remedial of the decision. And, while it was a pity because all the reports from her academy instructors pointed at the girl becoming an exceptional ninja, a jōnin sensei's decision on these matters was final.

"I'm sorry to hear that but surely you are aware that I respect the decision made by the jōnin I entrust the future of our village to," the old man said, leaning forwards and interlocking his fingers in front of his face.

"Yes, I am certain that is the case, however, if I may be permitted Hokage-sama," she asked, looking at the old man with uncertainty showing in her eyes. 'At least she is polite,' he thought tiredly, giving her permission to continue.

Drawing a deep breath before continuing, Keiko fought to surprise her wildly beating heart before continuing:

"I am not asking for a remedial of Kyota-sensei's decision. I am here to ask you about my options, as I don't believe being sent back to the academy will be beneficial for anyone," she declared, sitting up straight as she bit her tongue in an attempt to control her nerves.

"Oho?" the old Kage said amusedly, watching the genin before him with new eyes. This happened rarer, and he mentally tried to recall the academy report on the girl. Top of her class with her highest scores being in her taijutsu lessons. It was hard to be surprised to learn that she did not take this new development well.

"I would need to confer with your academy instructors as well as with the jōnin who carried out your team's assessment before I could tell you anything," the old man told her slowly, watching as her stance shifted slightly to show relief.

"Very well I will send someone for you tomorrow and to discuss this further, till then dismissed," Sarutobi told her, watching as the girl lost some of her composure in an attempt to thank him and leave at the same time.

He allowed himself to openly chuckle one the door shut behind her, before sighing at the extra work he had just given himself.

Pulsing his chakra slightly, he waited till his secretary entered before telling her: "send one of the chūnin available to find and bring Kyota Hideo."

"Of course Hokage-sama," she replied immediately, leaving to do as instructed.

Meanwhile, Hiruzen rummaged through the paperwork on his desk till he found the dossier he needed.

'Seems I won't have time to check up on Kakashi,' the Hokage thought as he reread the files before him.

—.—.—.—

Dinner was an awkward affair for Keiko. After her meeting with the Hokage, she went straight home, avoiding her family once there. Dinner, unfortunately, was not something one could miss unless hospitalised or on a mission, thus Keiko's presence was expected.

From an outsider's view, there was nothing out of the ordinary that jumped out to them, except possibly how quiet they all were. Which, given her family was not an unusual event.

No, as far as dinners went, there was nothing particularly different about this one. Which was exactly the reason why Keiko was feeling so awkward. Nobody asked her how her test went or whether or not she passed, despite the fact that at yesterday's dinner that was the first question out of Hiashi's mouth whilst looking at Hinata.

Hinata, bless her soul, could tell that her twin was restless, had been since returning home. But the kind girl wisely did not ask, giving Keiko time to work through it first.

It was Hanabi who broke the silence, looking at her sister expectantly:

"Well, are you not going to tell us about your exam aneue? You barely stopped complaining about your teammates yesterday," and so the spell was broken and Keiko could feel their eyes boring into her.

Hiashi even put down his bowl after a prolonged moment of silence, eyeing his daughter contemplatively.

In all honesty, the man was not expecting anything but a positive response from Keiko, being the much more talented of the twins. Therefore, he concluded that if Hinata was able to successfully pass then Keiko would have breezed through it.

Though, it seemed that destiny was not done with its ironies.

"Keiko," he said sharply, eyes narrowing at her slumped posture.

"Keiko-chan," Hinata tried instead, worried white eyes watching as her sister debated with herself, body shifting this way and that, before she straightened, looking their father in the eyes.

"My apologies chichiue, my team has failed our instructor's test," she finished saying. Forcing herself to not look at her sisters shocked expressions. Even Neji, who had a good grip on his expressions could not stop his shock from showing.

"What? How could that be?" Hanabi exclaimed immediately, wide eyes frantically looking at everyone around the table, trying to gauge whether this was one of her sister's jokes or not.

"I see," Hiashi replied, expression never wavering as he surveyed Keiko's stiff posture.

"Such a failure will not be taken lightly," his father said, not bothering to hide his disappointment.

"What will happen from this moment onwards?" Neji finally asked, mentally worrying cousin's fate.

"Her ninja status will be revoked," their grandfather answered just as Keiko also said:

"I am to wait for Hokage-sama's summons," causing everyone's attention to snap back to her.

"What?" came Hiashi's question, breaking the silence that settled over them like a blanket after the girl's admission.

"I have spoken with Hokage-sama about alternatives, as being sent to the academy would be a waste of time for everyone involved," Keiko continued, hands clenched in the material on her kimono as she bore through her father's scrutiny. She really didn't like the man.

"Very well, I shall clear my schedule to accompany you tomorrow and deal with the repercussions of your foolishness," was Hiashi's final decision before he left the dinner table. His father following shortly after.

It was only afterwards that Keiko allowed herself to relax, slumping were she stood and releasing a loud sigh. 'That could have been worse,' she thought as the seven year old practically pounced on her, Neji finishing his mean silently while Hinata attempted to reassure Keiko about tomorrow's events.

Leaning in her sister's embrace, Keiko could only half-heartedly bat away at her younger sibling.

Secretly, throughout the whole ordeal, Hinata couldn't help but admire her twin's courage. She didn't believe herself able to have told their father the news had she been in Keiko's position.

* * *

 **A/N: Word vomit in its purest form. Seriously this is me writing as a procrastination method so I am sorry if you felt like banging your head against the table/wall/any hard surface.**

 **Despite her story not being the greatest piece of literature, I actually love Keiko despite having only come up with her character for 2 days. I normally spend much more time on an OC and thinking of their story before doing anything but I just jumped straight in it with Keiko. =I do know her story btw!=**

 **Anyway, thank you for reading it means a lot to me, honestly and thank you Tanner Clark and Himeno Kazehito for leaving a review!**

 **If anyone is interested in seeing Keiko, I have posted some** art **of her on my Deviantart account and it has the same username as this one: Mewrlise**

 **I have also created a profile page for Keiko on narutooriginals that has more information on her as well as her design. Just type in Hyūga Keiko in the search.**

 **Till next time!**

 **1)How unbelievable did you find this chapter?**


	3. Verdict

As promised, Hiashi accompanied his daughter the next day to her meeting with the Hokage. They walked silently together through the village streets to reach the tower while Keiko prepared herself for the worst.

Last night, after everyone fell asleep, she snuck out to the training ground behind their house, unleashing all of her pent up frustration. She attacked the dummy till the skin on her hands broke and she couldn't hold the tears at bay anymore.

She failed.

Failed, failed, _failed_. And now, her only hope at a ninja career rested in the hands of her Kage and his benevolence.

Neji hadn't even spoken to her since she shared the news. Eating his meal in silence and then leaving. He looked so disappointed that even remembering his expression caused a free wave of tears to trail down her face.

 _It was so frustrating._

And she needed to deal with it. 'I'll figure something out, tomorrow—today, Hokage-sama is bound to have some sort of idea about what to do with me,' she _couldn't_ let it end here. With that thought, she took another two minutes to calm down and stop her shaking and, ignoring the pain in her fists made her was back inside.

This whole time not realising of the audience she had.

Watching from the far edge, where the shadows served to hide him, Hiashi watched as his daughter lost her composure, unable to do anything more than watch the child he promised to look after. 'If only you were here…you'd know what to say,' he thought, the image of his wife appearing in his mind.

He swore to her that he would look after their daughters as she sat in her hospital bed. That no harm will come to them.

Hiashi supposed that he has kept his word so far. No harm had befallen his children, though they were ninja that sooner or later it would. But the price he paid in order to ensure that….Hinata was too gentle and meek, afraid of hurting others or expressing her opinion clearly. It could prove fatal for her on a mission and too much should she become the next clan head and not change. That's why he thought that if she pushed her, threatened to make Hanabi the next heir that something will change. Instead, it had the opposite effect.

It was the main reason he suggested she should stop aiming to be a ninja. That lifestyle would be too much for her. She wasn't like her twin, stubborn and strong. He never doubted Keiko would grow into an excellent shinobi. She had that look, just like her cousin…they were destined to be good.

'Such irony,' he often thought, whenever he would peek at Keiko and Neji's training. Both born to become members of the branch family. He often thought his brother should have been born first and not himself. He would have made a good leader and Neji a great heir. Watching his nephew only made Hiashi understand more and more the reason behind Hizashi's resentment towards the Main family. Especially when one had to compare his son to Hinata, or even Hanabi.

Then there as Keiko, born moments after her twin, just like it happened in Hiashi and Hizashi's case. And, as fate ordained, the girl ended up showing more promise than her twin, leading both brothers to reach the conclusion that birth order did not dictate one's ability.

In the end, all Hiashi ever managed to do is make one daughter be afraid of him and one to hate him. Hiashi supposed he should be grateful Hanabi at least still looked up to him somewhat, though he wasn't blind to the looks she would give him sometimes. His youngest gave up her childhood in order to train, afraid of not being strong enough to lead their clan in the future.

Oh, how Hiashi wished his wife was still alive.

—.—.—.—

In Sarutobi's office, the old Kage took a moment to survey the pair before him. He wasn't surprised when Hiashi also arrived with Keiko, both bowing before taking a stand in the centre of the room.

'These are the moments I wish there was someone else to replace me,' he thought, looking at the child attempting to be brave, standing straight and looking directly at him. However, Sarutobi was no fresh genin and could easily see the apprehension displayed in the girl's eyes and posture.

"Good morning Hiashi-san, Keiko-kun," he greeted them, waiting till they finished their own greeting before continuing:

"I must say Keiko-kun, I am a bit lost about what to do with you. I have spoken with both your academy instructors and your Kyota-kun yesterday. They agreed that although you did not pass your jōnin sensei's test, sending you back would do much good. You were top of your class with some impressive grades—However," putting down the papers he was looking at, Hiruzen made eye contact with the girl.

"your genin teammates do not have quite the same backing. It is true that not allowing you to continue would be a shame, I'm certain that you would grow to serve Konoha well. Nevertheless, genin teams are formed of three newly graduated genin and a jōnin instructor. This is a law I stand firm on as it improves said genin's survival chances exponentially while they gain experience and learn to stand on their own. Adding a fourth to an already existing team would unbalance the team, even if they have been together for only a few days."

Keiko fought the urge to swallow and fisted her hands in order to help alive the shaking. 'This doesn't sound promising," she thought.

"Not to mention that it makes it harder for one jōnin to look after them all on more dangerous missions, do you understand?" Hiruzen asked, watching as the girl nodded her head.

"I can't assign you on your own to a jōnin either. Not because we lack them, but because once a jōnin takes on genin, they are restricted from taking on the more dangerous missions since they can't take their teams with them. This makes us have to compensate by either sending fewer jōnin on particular missions or adding chūnin which increases the danger they can expect on a mission. Hence why assigning a jōnin to a single genin would be wasteful," Sarutobi finished his speech, watching as Keiko nearly lost all hope before allowing a small smile to appear on his face, briefly making eye contact with Hiashi who kept quiet till now.

"Now that I educated and scared you enough here is what I propose, though not ideal I believe that it may work," he began once again.

"I will not be able to assign you to any other genin team and Kyota-kun firmly does not believe in the team you were initially were put in, saying it is too unbalanced and carries a high death risk…Have you thought of specialising in any particular field before Keiko-kun?" the Hokage asked, watching as her head snapped in his direction, confusion plastered across her face. Even Hiashi raised an eyebrow at this.

Realising that Hiruzen was genuinely waiting for a response, Keiko scoured her mind for an answer: "I—no, Hokage-sama, I have never thought about it," the poor girl was sure the tips of her ears were red.

"I wasn't expecting you to have," the old man admitted, chuckling at her expression, "it is why I will arrange for various departments to see whether or not they have an empty spot and train you. For the first few months, you will keep altering between them. At the end of this trial period, you will be assessed by a representative of each one to decide which one you will continue with. Is this clear?"

"Yes Hokage-sama!" Keiko said determinedly, happiness entering her eyes for the first time during this meeting.

"Excellent. Hiashi-san, do you have any objections to this arrangements?" Hiruzen asked the Hyūga head.

"No Hokage-sama, you have been lenient and fair with your decision," the older Hyūga said,bowing before his leader in thanks.

"Talent shouldn't be wasted, especially when it isn't willing to be discarded," Hiruzen said, a twinkle of something appearing in his eyes as she looked at Keiko once again.

"As for missions, you will be allowed to partake in them. D-ranks you will be expected to do by yourself and will have to be taken outside of the hours you are expected to be present by each department. They can also assign you on other missions and anything higher or outside the village will be given to you by either me or the mission department. You will join other teams for this missions which will typically be older than you. That way you will be able to learn from those with more experience than yourself," he finished, smiling at the overjoyed child before him.

"Yes Hokage-sama, I promise! I won't throw away your kindness," she promised to bow deeply.

—.—.—.—

Returning home was just as silent and awkward. Only this time Keiko was in better spirits, elated to learn that she could still pursue a ninja career although in a more unorthodox way.

"I expect you to work harder than ever to make up for your embarrassing failure," and then her father just _hand_ to go and bring her mood down again.

"Yes chichiue, I promise," she replied automatically, barely thinking before the words came out.

—.—.—.—

It took two weeks before a schedule could be arranged and Keiko could start. Meanwhile, she took to training with new vigour, determined to not fail a second time. Neji, she learnt, was more upset than disappointed, so he claimed, for her. Which she wasn't convinced to be completely honest but ignore once she started training with her again. His strikes more violent than before.

"I won't hold back anymore, I see that it had done you no good," he told her, watching her enraged expression.

"Ha! You held back? Pft, I don't appreciate that thought Neji-nii," and the two tore at each other, jab after jab till they were both sweaty and tired and a maid called them inside to prepare for dinner.

At least things were gaining a semblance of normality once again.

—.—.—.—

The first department Keiko was assigned to was Konoha's R&D Division, nothing life shatteringly exciting happened and it involved a lot a paperwork. Keiko was tasked as a messenger kid rather than be asked to help with any other project, which, despite her annoyance was probably for the best as simply glancing at some of the boards filled with number and theories gave her a migraine like no other.

Next was the Medical Division. There they made her do various tests to see how good her chakra control was as there was no way she was going to be taught anything relating to medical ninjutsu if all she would do was make things worse.

Of course, even though her chakra control was good, a requirement when considering their family techniques, they didn't start Keiko on any of the fancy stuff. Like with the R&D, she mainly helped the nurses and doctors by fetching whatever it was they needed. They did, however, start showing her more advanced first aid than what the academy taught and Kitō, one of the medics, even allowed her to watch him work on low-risk patients.

Two weeks later and Keiko was waiting inside the T&I building, waiting for whoever was going to give her instructions as she watched shinobi walk with purpose from one place to another. In the end, a brown haired, bored looking man approached and introduced himself as Shinobu Mibu, telling her to not waste time with formalities and simply call him Mibu. He showed her around parts of the building and the rooms she, under no circumstances other than direct orders, could enter. He then dumped a book about interrogation techniques on her lap, told her to read it by the end of the week and left.

Keiko really has met a bunch of weird people ever since she finished the academy.

—.—.—.—

"Yes, thank you Saiba-senpai, till tomorrow!" Keiko said, waving goodbye at the ninja inside the Aviary before setting for a tea shop, nearly desperate for a drink and something to eat.

It has been a little over two months since she was assigned to the various Divisions of Konoha.

The little Hyūga made do on her promise to the Hokage and worked determinedly for each and every single division, even if her seniors signed her mind numbingly boring work. In her opinion at least. The genin developed a new found respect for the people that worked to make their village run without problems, finding that even if it wasn't on the field against enemy nins one still needed to battle in different ways.

It was especially true for the medics, on her third rotation for the hospital, she was allowed to witness a surgery and was left in awe of the efficiency of the medical team. Even if during the actual event she felt although her heart might burst from stress. And she wasn't even doing anything!

Sighing aloud as she jumped from rooftop to rooftop, Keiko paused when she spotted a familiar head of dark blue.

"Nee-chan!" she singsonged, launching herself from the roof into the arms of a startled Hinata, topping to the ground in the process and causing a minor commotion.

"What the hell Keiko!" Kia shouted, Akamaru barking in agreement from atop his partner's head.

"Ah, sorry, sorry—you all right nee-chan?" Keiko directed her attention back to her sister who was still on the ground eyes unfocused as she mumbled something incoherently.

"Huh, do give them a warning next time Keiko-chan," Kurenai, signed, mock-upset with the other Hyūga's appearance, when in truth she was fighting a smile at the other girl's antics. One really couldn't help their surprise when learning the two were twins. She still remembers when they first found out as well:

Team eight was going through their morning routine when Kurenai sensed the newcomer settle in a tree watching. But since they weren't bothering her students, for now, she let them be, choosing instead to correct Kiba's stance.

When the group of genin took a momentary break, Keiko made her move. Jumping from the tree branch and startling the children she bowed first before Kurenai, apologising for the interruption before turning to Hinata:

"Sorry, sorry, but Misako-san told me you forgot your lunchbox so I offered to bring it in her place. I would have waited longer but I need to go as well," she fired rapidly, handing a lunchbox wrapped in a light purple cloth to Hinata.

"Oh! I forgot this morning, thank you Keiko," Hinata said softly, smiling as she took the package from the other girl and deposited it by a tree, out of the way.

"Huh? Who are you?" Kiba asked, blinking in confusion as he looked from Keiko to Hinata and back again. "Hey…you two…" he began, finally registering Keiko's appearance as Hinata went by her side again.

"Ah! I-I forgot to do the introductions," Hinata panicked, looking at everyone in rapid succession.

"It's alright, I should have been the one to do so—," Keiko tried to reassure her panicked sister.

"Bu-But their my teammates and you-you're my sister, I sho-should have been the one to do the introductions," the girl stammered, her embarrassment getting in the way of her speech.

"Sister?" Kurenai asked in surprise. She knew of Hanabi of course…and Hinata's file did mention a twin…though the older woman had yet to see the girl until this moment.

"That is surprising," Shino finally said, "Why? Because we were not aware that Hinata had a sister."

"Two actually," Keiko corrected, "it is nice to meet you, I'm Hinata's twin, Hyūga Keiko," she introduced.

Hinata then proceeded to introduce Keiko to everyone else before the girl left just as swiftly as she appeared.

'Really,' Kurenai thought, 'since that day, it's almost as if the girl wants to make a point by randomly appearing.'

It was quickly apparent that although the two girls were like mirror images of each other, just like the reversed reflection of a mirror the two were opposites of each other. Whilst Hinata lacked in confidence, Keiko seemed to own a whole fountain of it, getting into several fights with Kiba over conflicting ideas.

"Honestly, I'm surprised Hinata can put up with you, you're like a—," Kiba started.

"Finish that sentence dog boy. _Finish it_. I _dare_ you," the younger twin growled at the Inuzuka whilst she helped Hinata back on her feet.

"Shino~ how do you put up with this loud mouth of a teammate of yours?" the girl whined, sending Kiba a dirty look.

"I acclimated to him. Why? Because I normally ignore him," came Shino's blunt and unedited answer, causing Keiko to laugh loudly while Kiba gawked at the other male.

Ah, such a nice evening.

* * *

 **A/N: I don't believe I can portray Keiko the exact way she is in my mind...but Kami do I love this OC. Thank you for reading! It means a lot to me . Till next time!**

 **Ooh, what division do you think Keiko will end up belonging to? ;)**


End file.
